O Sinner, Could He Refuse Thee?

But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us…- Titus 3:4, 5

God must punish sin, every transgression must receive its just recompense of reward; but, lo, Christ has come, and as the scape-goat He has carried sin away; as the sin-offering He has removed transgression. Is not this good news? But I hear you say that your sins are too many and great. Do you then foolishly think that Christ is a sin-bearer for the innocent? That would be ridiculous. Do you suppose that Christ bore little sins only? That is to make Him a little Savior. Beware of this. Nay, but mountain sins, heaven-defying sins, were laid on Him when He hung upon the tree, and for these He made effectual atonement.

Perhaps, one of your greatest difficulties is that you cannot pray. You say, “I cannot put a dozen words together; if I groan, I fear I do not feel in my heart what I ought to feel.” Well, there is One who can pray for you if you cannot for yourself. Give Him your cause to plead, and do not doubt but that it shall succeed.

Think of His character as the meek and lowly Savior. Little children loved Him; He called them and they willingly came, for He was meek and lowly of heart. O sinner, could He refuse thee? Do you think He could give you a hard word and send you about your business, if you were to seek mercy today? It could not be; it is not in the nature of Him, who is both the Son of God and the Son of Man, ever to repel a heart that fain would cling to Him. Until He has once acted harshly to a coming sinner, you have no right to dream of His rejecting you, if you come to Him.~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1010.cfm

 

Trust the Incarnate God

Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same; that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil…For verily He took not on Him the nature of angels; but He took on Him the seed of Abraham. – Hebrews 2: 14, 17

Mark right well who this Jesus Christ is. He is in the constitution of His person both God and man, divine and human, equal with God and fellow with man. Do you not see in this fact the love of God, that He should be willing to take humanity into union with Himself? If God becomes man, He does not hate men, but has love towards them. Do you not see the suitability of Christ to deal with you, for He is like yourself a man, touched with the feeling of your infirmities; of a human mother born, He hung at a woman’s breast, he suffered hunger and thirst and weariness, and, dead and buried in the tomb, He was partaker in our doom as well as our sorrow? Jesus of Nazareth was most truly a man, He is bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh. O sinner, look into the face of the Man of sorrows and you must trust Him. Since He is also God, you therein see His power to carry on the work of salvation. He touches you with the hand of His humanity, but He touches the Almighty with the hand of His Deity. He is man, and feels your needs; He is God, and is able to supply them. Is anything too tender for His heart of love? Is anything too hard for His hand of power? When the Lord Himself, that made the heavens and digged the foundations of the earth, comes to be your Savior, there remains no difficulty in your being saved. Omnipotence cannot know a difficulty, and, O sinner, to an omnipotent Savior it is not hard to save even you. A look of faith will give you perfect pardon. A touch of the hem of the Redeemer’s garment will heal you at once. Come, then, and trust the incarnate God. Cast yourself into His arms at once.~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1010.cfm

Christ is That Great Light

The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light…- Isaiah 9:2

Now Christ is not only light, but great light; He reveals great things, He manifests great comforts, saves us from great sin and great wrath, and prepares us for great glory. He is, however, a Savior that must be seen…We must see the Savior with a glance of faith, then have we light. Let us consider how clearly Christ Jesus Himself is the light of every believing eye, and delivers the most troubled soul from its misery. In Him is light, and the light is the light of men. Jesus, personally, is the day-dawn and the morning without clouds…I am a sinner lost and ruined, but I rejoice, for Jesus has come to seek and to save that which was lost. My sins trouble me, but He shall save His people from their sins. Satan annoys me, but He has come to destroy the works of the devil. He is not a nominal, but a real, Savior. We know captains and colonels who have no troops, and never saw fighting, but not so the Captain of our salvation; He brings many sons unto glory. If a man is called a builder, we expect him to build; if a merchant, we expect him to trade; and as Jesus is a Savior, He will carry on His sacred business, He will save multitudes. Why, surely there is comfortable hope here. Do you not see the dawning in the name of Savior? Surely if He comes to save, and you need saving, there is a blessed suitability in you for one another. A prisoner at the bar is glad to meet one who is by profession an advocate; a ship out of its track welcomes a pilot; a traveler lost on the moors is delighted if he meets one who is by trade a guide; and so a sinner should rejoice at the bare mention of a Savior. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1010.cfm

He Makes the Blind to See

Insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see: and they glorified the God of Israel. – Matthew 15:31

O sweet light, how precious art thou to blind eyes, when they are newly opened. You do not know what it is to be blind: thank God that you do not: there are some here, however, who painfully know what constant darkness is; it is a grievous privation: but when their eyes are opened, as they will be in another state, and they see that best of sights, the King in His beauty, how sweet will light be to them!

So, when the spiritual eye has long been dim, and we have mourned and wept for sin, but could not beheld a Savior, light is sweet beyond expression. And, because it is so sweet, there is a necessity within the enlightened soul to tell out the joyful news to others. When a man has deeply felt the evil of sin, and has at length obtained mercy, he cries with David, “Then will I teach transgressors Thy ways, and sinners shall be converted unto Thee.” John Bunyan’s impulse when he found the Savior was to tell the crows on the ploughed ground about it, and he lived to do better than talk to crows, for day by day, from generation to generation, his works proclaim the Friend of sinners, who leads them from the City of Destruction to the Celestial glory. Zealous saints are usually those who once were in great darkness; they see what grace has done for them, and for that very reason they feel an attachment to their dear Lord and Master, which they might never had felt if they had not once sat in the valley of the shadow of death. So, poor troubled ones, for these reasons, and fifty more I might bring if time did not fail me, there is hope for you. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1010.cfm

Special Promises for Saddened Sinners

Come unto Me… – Matthew 11:28

…whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. – Acts 2:21; Romans 10:13

How precious is that word, “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Is not that made for you, ye burdened and laboring sinners? What say you to that gracious word- “When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I, the Lord, will hear them, I the God of Jacob will not forsake them?” Is there no light in that word of love- “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon?” Is there no music in this passage- “Who is a God like unto Thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He retaineth not His anger for ever, because He delighteth in mercy. He will turn again; He will have compassion upon us; He will subdue our iniquities; and Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.” I recollect when my soul was stayed for weeks on that one short word, “Whosoever calleth upon the Lord, shall be saved.” I knew I did call on His name, and therefore I hoped to see His salvation. Many have laid hold and rested themselves on this faithful saying, “Him that cometh to Me, I will in no wise cast out.” He will receive any “him” or “her” in all the world that comes, be he or she ever so defiled. That also is a rich word, “He is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him (Jesus), seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them.” What a word was that of our Master when He commanded His disciples to preach the gospel to every creature, beginning at Jerusalem. They were to commence their labors amongst His murderers, amongst hypocritical Pharisees and proud Herodians; they were to begin where the devil reigned most supreme, and to present Christ to the worst sinners first. See you, then, that great sinners, so far from being excluded, are just those to whom the good news is to be first published. Be of good comfort, then, ye that sit in darkness: there are special promises for you. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1010.cfm

There is Hope and Light For You

…and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up. – Matthew 4:16

To souls enwrapt in gloom the gospel has come as a cheering and guiding light; and there are good reasons why it should be so. For, first, among such people the gospel has reaped very rich fruit. Among barbarous nations Christ has won great trophies. The poor Karens are wonders of grace, the cannibals of the South Sea Islands are miracles of mercy, and among the once enslaved Ethiopians there are warm and loving hearts which rejoice in Jesus’ name. In this city, I will venture to say, that no churches reflect more honor upon the Master’s name than those which have been gathered from among the destitute districts…God is glorified when the thief and the harlot are washed and cleansed and made obedient to the law of Christ. When those who are healed stand at the pastor’s side, even ribald tongues are silent, or are made to exclaim, “What hath God wrought?” The same is true of persons mentally depressed, who are despairing of themselves; many such have been converted. Some of us were brought very low before we found the Savior; lower we could not well have been: we were emptied like a dish that a man wipes and turns upside down; we had not even a drop of hope left in us; but we rejoice in Christ today, and we say to despairing souls, we are personal witnesses that Christ has saved such as you are, He has, in our case, caused light to shine on us who sat in darkness, and out of death’s cold shade into life’s full light He has brought us as prisoners of hope; and, therefore, He can do the same with you. Be of good courage, there is hope for you.~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1010.cfm

His Saving Health for the Sin-Sick

The people which sat in darkness saw a great light… – Matthew 4:16

It is said next that they “sat in darkness.” Matthew did not quote from Isaiah correctly; I think he purposely alters it. Isaiah speaks, in his ninth chapter, of a people that “walked in darkness;” but here the evangelist speaks of a people who “sat in darkness.” That is a state of less hopefulness. The man who walks is active, he has some energy left, and may reach a brighter spot; but a man sitting down is inactive, and will probably abide where he is. “The people that sat in darkness”-as if they had been there a long while, and would be there longer yet. They sat as though they had been turned to stone. They “sat in darkness,” probably through despair; they had, after a fashion, striven for the light, but had not found it, and so they gave up all hope. Their disappointed hearts told them that they might as well spare those fruitless efforts, and therefore down they sat with the stolidity of hopelessness. Why should they make any more exertion? If God would not hear their prayers, why should they pray any longer?…They said, “What matters it, since there is no hope for us? Let it be as fate appoints, we will sit still, we will neither cry nor pray.” How many have I met with who are not only thus in darkness, but are half-content to dare the terrible future, and sullenly to wait till the storm-cloud of wrath shall burst over them. It is a most sad and wretched condition, but what a blessing it is that this day we have a gospel to preach to such…The fact is that when a man is sin-sick, his soul abhorreth all manner of meat, and unless the Beloved Physician shall interpose, he will die of famine with the Bread of Life spread out before him. Dear friends, may the Lord visit you with His saving health, and give to the saddest of you joy and peace in believing. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1010.cfm